


A Flicker in the Deep

by avstricx



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cute, Established Relationship, I Tried, Kinda, M/M, Tags Are Hard, i think??, the mines are scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 16:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18123995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avstricx/pseuds/avstricx
Summary: "As he stared at the ladder down, he remembered suddenly why he'd never been in here before. The hole went into seemingly nothingness, just a dark circle. It looked as if it would swallow him whole.Elliott pushed the thoughts out of his head, tightened his hands on the scythe handle, and climbed down."Alternatively, Elliott's boyfriend doesn't make it home from the mines one night, and he decides to face his fears and go find him.





	A Flicker in the Deep

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty so this is one of the first Stardew related things I've written in a little while. I wasn't intending to post it, I had originally just planned on keeping it to myself, as I do with basically everything I write ever. 
> 
> So I apologize if you don't find it as interesting as I do. 
> 
> But yeah, that's it really! I would appreciate comments of criticism, or whatever you want. Honestly I'm a bit nervous about posting this, and I'm happy for any recognition at all. Thanks :)
> 
> (Also, If you were wondering, the title is from the stardew soundtrack)
> 
> ((Also for some reason I feel the need to add that listening to The Cave You Fear really put me in the mood for this piece. It's a good song, real fun to listen to and play. That is all.)

Elliott was never one to worry much about what his boyfriend was up to. His boyfriend was quite stronger than he was, and could maneuver his way out of just about anything. He knew that whatever he got himself into, he could probably get himself out of it. Probably. 

So, naturally, he felt a bit silly as he walked the path to the farm house at such an unruly hour, especially dressed in such leisure wear (a baggy long sleeve shirt and sweatpants, accompanied by his boots). However, his brain was fried from writing all day and into the night, and he wanted nothing more than to slip in bed beside the farmer. He did this often; pop in at some ungodly hour and fall asleep in his boyfriend's bed. Living alone on the beach was nice, but as he noticed more once Jonathan moved into town, it often got lonely. Now that he actually had someone who would accept his uninvited visits during the early morning hours, he was going to take advantage. 

Though, as he approached the farmhouse, something felt off. 

His first clue to something not being right was the farmer's cat. The feline, affectionately named Pineapple, sat himself on the porch and was pawing at the door, wanting to be let inside. 

Elliott checked his watch as he walked up. 2:12AM, which was quite odd, because Jon was always very punctual when it came to sleep. He would most likely be in bed by now, 12 minutes ago, if Elliott were being specific. He knew that the farmer always made sure his cat was inside once it had gotten dark, so it made no sense as to why the cat was outside still. 

As he approached, Pineapple turned to him and let out a loud meow, probably in protest that he wasn't Jon letting him inside. Still, he walked over and rubbed himself against Elliott's leg affectionately. 

"Hm," Elliott let out a sigh, reaching down to scratch the kitty behind his ears. 

He knew the farmhouse was probably locked, but he still put his hand on the handle and tried the door anyway. To his suprise, he was able to push it open. Though this made him feel a bit alarmed. He always had to use the spare key Jon left for him specifically, under the mat. But it was unlocked, and anyone could just walk right inside.

Pineapple made a beeline for the door and immediately curled up on the kitchen table. Elliott simply shrugged, shut the door, and made his way to the bedroom. He left the lights in the entry way off, assuming he would be falling asleep, shortly. As it would turn out, that is not what would happen. 

When Elliott entered the bedroom, the moon shining through the window illuminated the bed. Usually, he would see Jon tucked halfway under the covers, hair messily strewn across his face that he would grumble while brushing out the next morning. Where his boyfriend was supposed to be was an empty mattress. 

The hairs on the back of Elliott's neck stood immediately, and a small pit formed deep in his stomach. Normally this would not worry him, he would assume he was out fishing late at night, but he never stayed out this long. He tried not to worry, but he simply couldn't help himself. 

Next, he went to check the tool chest Jon kept in the living room, flipping the light on as he went, much to Pineapple's dismay. 

As he rifled through it, he made a mental checklist of all that was inside. Fishing pole, new watering can, hoe, scythe, axe, old watering can, old fishing pole. The only things he knew were missing was his pick axe and his sword. 

He wasn't an idiot, and he knew what this meant. Jon was in the mines. 

The pit in his stomach grew bigger as he pieced everything together. The time, cat, unlocked door, empty bed, missing tools. 

He concluded that his boyfriend was stuck in the mines, and as soon as he did so, he was out the door with Jon's scythe in hand. For protectional purposes, of course. 

He took trail through the north part of the farm past Robin's house, as it was faster and and a more direct route there. He was walking so fast he was practically running, and any tiredness he felt moments ago was gone, and replaced with worry. 

He reached the mine entrance quickly, but paused as he approached. 

He had no idea what he was in for. Jon had occasionally mentioned his time in the mines to Elliott, but he'd never gone into much detail. At one point, he'd even offered to take Elliott down with him, but it had never happened yet. Elliott was kind of glad it never had. 

Though, now, there was no standing around and debating. He had to face his fears and go find Jon. 

As he stared at the ladder down, he remembered suddenly why he'd never been in here before. The hole went into seemingly nothingness, just a dark circle. 

Elliott pushed the thoughts out of his head, tightened his hands on the scythe handle, and climbed down.

The first level, he'd been told by Jon, never had any monsters on it. While he was thankful for that, he didn't see Jon, and knew he'd have to continue down to the more densely populated areas of the mines. 

A lantern hung on the wall at the entrance to the second level, and Elliott could see more around, lighting the level up. That made it easier, he thought. 

He looked around, his feet not moving from the spot he stood in, next to the ladder up. He shut his eyes for a moment, took a few uneasy breaths, then forced his legs to start moving. He knew he couldn't afford any lost time he spent to try and psych himself up for this. And he certainly could not run out of here empty handed. 

His grip on the scythe was so tight he thought he felt the handle crunch under his fingers. Everything in him was screaming at him that this was not a good idea, and that he had to leave, but he wasn't listening. 

He opened his mouth to try and call Jon's name as he walked around, but it came out as nothing more than a shaky whisper. He suddenly felt so vulnerable as he looked around. The level was lit up, but that meant almost nothing. He still had no idea of what lurked down here, what he could be walking right into. 

After searching the level, he didn't find Jon, but he did find the next ladder down. The green puddles he walked by alarmed him as he went, but he kept going. He hurried down the ladder to level 3, even though he felt like his stomach was about to come up his throat. 

Level 3 was a dud, as was level 4. The deeper he got, the more green puddles he saw. On level 4, his heart almost stopped when he heard a fluttering sound, and turned to see a large bug flying back and forth between the wall. He stood and stared wide eyed, not breathing for a solid minute. But it didn't seem to notice him, even as he stepped past it. 

On level 5, he noticed an elevator to the left of the ladder, and wondered if it had been on every level, but he had just neglected to acknowledge it. 

He then remembered Jon saying something yesterday about reaching level 40 last week. Elliott guessed he was wasting his time on the first few levels. He knew that if Jon were to have trouble, it would not be on the first 5 levels of the mine, that was for sure. 

He stepped inside the elevator and saw that the numbers on the buttons went by fives. The numbers went up to 45, but the remaining buttons remained unnumbered. He tried pressing one of the unnumbered ones, but it did nothing. Then, he pushed number 45, and the elevator dinged, and started its decent. 

He wasn't sure what he was expecting when the doors opened, but it certainly was not ice. That, however, was what he received. The walls and floor were covered in ice, and Elliott's mouth hung slightly open. He'd been expecting more stone floors, maybe some dirt. Definetly not this. 

He could immediately see his breath as he stepped out of the elevator, and he felt the chill in the air. It was like standing in a freezer. He was glad for his choice of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, and he was glad he brought his somewhat insulating boots, but the frigid air still had his teeth chattering. He knew he had to find Jon before he himself froze, because dragging one person out would certainly be easier than dragging two. 

He felt a bit more confident as he walked, having already made it down 5 levels without dying. But his confidence vanished as soon as he heard flapping, and the screech of a bat. 

He saw it moments later, flying straight at him. At first, he assumed it was harmless, as the bats he'd encountered previously in his life. But as it bared it's fangs and claws while flying faster, he threw his assumptions out the winow. He couldn't run, obviously, as the only way to go was was up. Getting past it would not be an option, as it was quickly approaching. An uneasy feeling settled inside him as he realized he would have to fight it. 

Elliott disliked hurting anything, especially animals. But, he knew that was what had to happen. He imagined these monsters hurting Jonathan, and suddenly, it became a lot easier. 

As it dove for his face, he hunkered down and swung the scythe at it. He was suprised to feel it make an impact, and he peeked out from behind his arm where he was protecting his head to see it be knocked back a bit. Both the bat and Elliott recovered quickly, and moved to strike again. 

The bat twirled around Elliott in a flurry of wings, seemingly taunting him as it poked at him with it's claws. Still, he managed to swing the scythe around to meet the bat again. In one slice, the bat met it's unfortunate end. 

It sprouted blood as it's chest became home to the end of the scythe's long blade. Elliott almost threw up. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins, causing his hands to shake horrendously, and his chest to feel heavy. Elliott took rapid, yet shallow, breaths to try to get himself back to a functioning state. Seeing the air leave his lungs and hang in the air seemed to help, though. A nice visual anchor. 

To his horror, he had to give the scythe a couple of shakes to get the bat dislodged. When it was, it fell to the ground with a thud. 

Elliott didn't look back as he walked away a lot quicker, now. 

The next monster he layed his eyes on was a tiny blue blob, that started barreling toward him as it saw him. Luckily, he found the exit long before it made its way over, and he scrambled down the ladder, hoping it wouldn't be able to follow him down. It didn't. 

Floor 46 seemed strange to him. There wasn't a single rock in sight. The last floor had been abundant with them, and he had to step over many just to make his way back. But here, there were none. Luckily for him, there were also no bats or blue blobs, or anything else. Though, there was a startling amount of blue goop on the floor. He simply passed it by, and quickly made his way to the next ladder. 

As he went deeper and deeper, his fears grew more and more. He desperately wanted to find Jonathan and leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen anything yet. Until level 47, that is. 

Elliott had just sliced through his third bat with the scythe after it had drug one of it's claws across his cheek. He hardly felt it due to the cold, and it remained nothing more than a dull sting. He wiped the blood from his face and moved on. 

Then, he noticed another blue blob. He braced himself for another fight, but it didn't seem to notice him. Which he found odd, because even while turned around, the other one heard him approach. This one simply kept moving forward. 

After it turned a corner and left Elliott's sight was when he started moving. It seemed odd that it hadn't acknowledged him, despite the fact that everything down here appeared ready to brawl. He'd even go so far to say that it worried him, slightly. 

He didn't know what overcame him in that moment, but he started following it, thinking it might be leading him to something important. Like Jonathan. 

He got to where the blob turned the corner, and stopped when he felt himself step on something hard. He warily took his foot off and crouched down to look. When he picked it up, he identified it as a ring. Though, it was small, and it glowed in his hand. A shiver ran laps up and down his spine as he remembered seeing one like it on Jon's finger earlier in the week. His suspicions were unfortunately correct, as he noticed a small 'J' messily carved into the band. He slipped it on his finger and stood back up. 

It was only went he looked to his left that his brain start screaming at him. It was dark, but he could make out feet, attached to legs, obviously. But where the rest of the body was supposed to be, he saw circular outlines. His mouth went dry and he felt his face heat up, despite the coldness around him

As he approached, the ring lit up the space, and he noticed that the circular things were more blue blobs, all crowding around the body laying on the ground. There were a handful, and most were around the torso, and one sat on the stomach. 

Elliott knew in his heart that it was Jon, but with every further step he took, he tried denying it more and more. No, this was some other guy, just napping. Definetly not his boyfriend. His boyfriend was fine, just somewhere below him, coming out of the mines right now, actually.

As he got closer and made out the face of the man laying on the ground, Elliott's heart dropped to his feet. There was no doubt, it was definetly Jon. 

Tears filled his eyes immediately, and he blinked them away as he stepped closer. He noticed that some of the blobs were rooting around in Jon's discarded bag laying next to him. The one sitting on his stomach rolled back and forth. 

Elliott grit his teeth in anger, and glared down at all of them.

"Get away from him!" He heard himself scream.

Next thing he knew, he was slicing through the blobs left and right. Though, it was like he was running on auto pilot. 

When nothing but blue puddles remained, Elliott looked back at Jonathan again. He felt his knees buckle under him, then they gave way, and he fell to the ground. 

"Oh Jonathan," Elliott gasped, crawling the rest of the way over to him. 

He saw the shallow rise and fall of his chest, which gave him some hope. But he was still unconcious. 

"Jon, wake up, darling." Elliott frantically shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up. 

He didn't wake up. His head fell to the side, and he mumbled a string of incoherent words. That was when Elliott knew he had to get him medical attention fast. As soon as possible, even. 

"Okay, it's alright." He sputtered, brushing some of Jon's long hair from his face, "I'm going to get you out of here."

Elliott reached over and grabbed Jon's bag, slinging it over his shoulder and slipping his arms through the straps. He hooked the scythe through one of the loops next to where a sword hung, and then turned back to his boyfriend. 

He managed to get him up, and slung the man over his shoulder. Elliott was a bit surprised at his weight. He didn't look it at all, and he knew it was mostly muscle he'd gained since starting the farm up, but he was heavy. 

The whole way back to the ladder, words spewed from Elliott's mouth faster than he could process them.

"You're fine, you're alright, we're gonna get you to Harvey and he's going to fix you all up, and then everything will be okay-" He was talking more for himself, so he didn't have a nervous breakdown right here in the cave. That wouldn't help either of them. 

Navigating the ladder with one hand and a person dangling over his right shoulder proved to be a small challenge, but he managed. He raced through level 46 to the ladder there, and knew once he hit 45, he wouldn't have to climb any more ladders, since there was an elevator. 

On level 45, the blob that he'd escaped from was waiting nearby the ladder up. However, Elliott had no time to fight it. 

As it barreled toward them, Elliott simply kicked it like a soccer ball. He wasn't expecting it to work, but the blob flew across to the other wall, where it hit and slid down slowly. Good enough. 

He concluded that he had never been so happy to see an elevator in his whole life. The doors immediately opened as he pushed the button, and he stepped on without looking back. When it started moving up, Elliott set Jon down on the floor in the corner so he was sitting up. 

In that moment, Elliott took some deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Though, everytime he tried, he looked over at Jon slouched against the wall again and got himself worked back up. 

Since he wasn't carrying him, now, he could really see more of the state Jon's body was in. 

He saw that his overalls were torn up in many places. His face was dirty, and scratched up, with most of his wounds still bleeding. The rest of his body was in no better condition. The places where his clothing was torn, Elliott could see the skin under it sliced all up. It looked as if he'd run through some barbed wire. In some places, blood seeped through his clothing. That and his unconcious state worried Elliott the most, and he tried willing the elevator to go faster with his mind. It didn't work. 

When it did reach the top, Elliott moved as fast as he could. Some of the adrenaline had worn off, so it was now a lot harder to lift Jon off of the ground. Somehow, he was able to. 

He practically ran to the clinic, carrying his boyfriend bridal style in his arms the whole way there. Occasionally when his head would move, Jon would slur something that Elliott couldn't make out as a word. It was more of a sound. Other than that, he was completely limp and unconcious. 

"Harvey!" He shouted as he ran up. He kicked the door with his foot, because he didn't have the free hands to knock. He honestly didn't even think about disturbing other people, he only cared to make enough noise for Harvey to hear him. 

As he worked on practically kicking the door down, he noticed the window above the clinic open, and Harvey's head peek out. 

"I'm coming down!" He said as soon as he saw what was waiting on his doorstep, and moments later the door swung open. 

Harvey seemed a bit disheveled, as he'd just woken up, but not nearly as much as Elliott and Jon were at the moment. He wasn't even in the same ball park. 

"Bring him back here." Harvey ordered, and Elliott followed him back to an exam room. He layed Jonathan down on the table as instructed. 

Harvey reached over to a phone on the counter and pushed a button, then turned back to the table. 

"Maru should be on her way. What happened to him?" Harvey asked, pulling out a stethoscope to check his breathing, then quickly got the stuff out to dress his wounds with.

"I- he was- found him-... mines!" Elliott eventually sputtered. He was still in shock. Apparently, in too much shock to form complete sentences. 

Harvey's eyebrows shot up at the revelation. He looked down to Jonathan, then over to Elliott.

"Why don't you wait for him in the waiting room. Maybe give yourself a chance to calm down a bit." Harvey sighed, biting his lip. "I'll have Maru patch you up once things settle down with him."

Despite Harvey's words, Elliott did not move. He knew he should, and he really wanted to sit down for a moment. But he couldn't get himself to move, and he didn't want to leave Jon. 

Harvey's hand was suddenly on his shoulder, and he was looking into his eyes intensely.

"Elliott? He'll be fine. Wait out there." Harvey gave him a small, reassuring smile. 

Despite his best efforts to protest, Elliott found himself nodding, and then his legs carried him out of the exam room. He dropped himself in a chair next, which was good because the rest of the adrenaline had gone now, and he was feeling very fatigued. His arms felt like jelly from carrying Jon out of the mines, and whatever remaining strength he had left the moment he sat down. He dropped his head in his hand and shut his eyes tight, rubbing his face. He hadn't even noticed that he'd been crying the whole way back, but he had. 

Mostly, he was scared. No, terrified. He knew that Harvey was taking care of him, now, and he would most likely be alright, but Elliott still feared the worst. He tried to push those thoughts out of his head, though, since he knew it would do him no good. Instead, he put all the effort he had into staying awake.

As soon as he'd stopped moving, his eyelids felt heavy, and he felt his brain starting to shut down. He needed sleep, but he didn't want to fall asleep in the waiting room now. With his head propped up by his hand, he stared blankly ahead of him. He didn't even notice Maru rush past him, back to the exam room with Harvey. 

Elliott was woken up by someone shaking his shoulder. After opening his eyes, he identified that person to be Maru. 

"Mmph." He huffed, taking a moment to rub his eyes and slowly stretch his limbs out. Apparently, his mind had overruled his attempts to stay awake.

"Elliott, please follow me. I'm going to patch your own wounds, now." Maru said, offering him a thoughtful look. 

"Oh," He nodded, still coming out of his sleepy daze. He got to his feet and followed behind her, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he did so. 

"How is Jonathan?" He found himself asking. 

Maru led him to a different exam room. One a lot less serious looking than what Jon was in.

"Better." She replied, a small smile spreading as she noticed Elliott look a bit more relieved, "Dr. Harvey was able to stop the bleeding for his more serious injuries. Now he's working on treating the rest of them, getting more fluids into his body, and warming him up a bit. He should be waking up sometime soon." 

Her words brought relief Elliott was not expecting to feel today. He'd braced himself to see her avoid his gaze and tell him that they were doing the best they could. 

"He was in quite an awful condition, right?" Elliott questioned, setting himself on the exam table.

Maru sighed, getting out the things needed to treat his cheek wound, "Yeah, he wasn't in great shape. But luckily you brought him here soon enough that it didn't get any worse." 

Elliott simply nodded in response. It was all still sinking in, his time in the mines. It was his first, and he really hoped it had been his last. He was really in no hurry to get down there again. 

The cut that the bat had left him ran quite deep, not that he'd noticed. It stung a lot more now as Maru cleaned it out, and he'd had his eyes shut the entire time she stitched it up. It had taken a while, but she worked quickly and carefully. 

"There," he stepped back once it was finished to admire her work. Then, she placed a bandage over it.

"Try not to get it wet, and you should be good. Come back in a week or two so I can check you over. Other than that, you should be fine." She instructed him.

He gave her a small nod, "Thank you, Maru." 

Moments later, Harvey opened the door to the room Elliott and Maru were in. 

"Um, can I speak with you for a moment?" He asked Elliott, and motioned for Maru to exit the room. She did.

Elliott nodded, immediately straightening his posture to hear what the doctor had to say. 

"You'll be happy to know that Jonathan is in a stable condition. He is still unconcious, but I predict he should be awake within the hour." Harvey told him, "I assume you will want to be there when he does wake up." 

Elliott nodded again, "Of course. But I'll need to go feed his animals, first."

"Alright. If he wakes up before you get back, I'll send Maru to the farm." Harvey gave him a small smile, then exited the room.

Elliott sighed in relief. At least he was going to be okay. He wasn't dead. He would recover, and everything would be alright. 

He was in the barn when Maru arrived. She entered, and didn't even have to say anything. Elliott was already running for the clinic.

He walked right past Evelyn, who sat in the waiting room, and headed straight for where he remembered Jon was. 

"Ah, Elliott, he's right through there." Harvey greeted him as he saw him, and pointed him in the direction of Jon's room. 

When Elliott pulled back the curtain, a smile immediately found its way to his face. Jonathan sat upright in the bed, and their eyes met immediately. He looked a lot better than when Elliott brought him in, which was as relief to him. 

"Well, are you going to stand there all day?" Jonathan asked, and Elliott realized he hadn't moved for a good minute. 

He broke his stillness and sat himself in the chair next to Jonathan. 

"Yoba's sake, Jon, how many times have I told you to be careful down in the mines?" Elliott scolded through a small smile, and pressed a kiss to Jonathan's cheek. 

"A lot, probably." Jon gave him a small, cheeky grin, reaching over and taking Elliott's hand in his own. 

"How are you feeling, darling?" Elliott asked, looking affectionately over at him.

"A lot of my body hurts, but it's better now that you're here."

Elliott rolled his eyes slightly, a blush creeping up on his cheeks "You're so cheesy."

Jonathan squeezed Elliott's hand, and sat back in the bed. It was a relief to Elliott, and Jonathan, once Elliott told him what happened, that he had made the recovery he did.

He still had a way to go, but was at the clinic, he was fine now, and everything was going to be alright. They both were sure of it.


End file.
